[Quran] Manuscript Quran,

Ottoman, probably 18th century, 454 p. text in black and red ink, 27 lines per page, on laid, polished paper, watermarked "crown star crescent", various variants, bound in characteristic binding of blindstamped full sheepskin with flap, 29.5 x 21 cm.

Intensively used, soiled/stained copy, apparently complete with at beginning and end a triangular sloping text; bookblock loose and in pieces, various pages at the end creased and frayed and with reinforced margins; binding with scratching/rubbing. Sold w.a.f. We found a reference online that paper with this watermark was made in Europe specifically for the Islamic market, from the 16th to the 18th century; during that period it was used throughout the entire Ottoman empire. Online examples of this type of watermark confirm this, but we could not trace the exact watermark of our manuscript. We presume 18th century, but it could also be 17th century. Compare: Stefan Andreev, Les filigranes dans les documents Ottomans, Sofia 2007 (mostly available online).